Press Room
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra Opens 96th Season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 & Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association (MSOA) celebrates the opening of its 96th season on November 13 & 14, 2026 with Beethoven & Rachmaninoff led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh at the Gallo Center for the Arts. The program opens with Valerie Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout which is a tribute to the frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and how people came together amidst isolation. The MSO will then feature pianist Janice Carissa performing Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece, his Piano Concerto No. 2, and conclude the program with one of the most iconic symphonic pieces of all time, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus to Perform Carmina Burana, Celebrating 95 Years of Music
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will close their Classics Series with performances of Carmina Burana on May 8 & 9, 2026 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The concerts will feature the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr., the Central Valley Youth Chorus, directed by Beth Holtan, and will also feature guest soloists: soprano Anastasia Malliaras, tenor Daniel Ebbers, and bass Malcolm MacKenzie. Members of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra will have the opportunity to perform side-by-side with the professional musicians of the MSO on Glinka’s Overture from Ruslan und Ludmilla.
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac Partner to Explore Dance and Music of Márquez’s Fandango
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac will partner to explore the dances that inspired Arturo Márquez’s “Fandango” in a pre-concert performance held before the MSO’s February 13 & 14, 2026 concerts: Scheherazade & Márquez’s Fandango.
Press Release: Anne Akiko Meyers Joins the Modesto Symphony Orchestra for Márquez’s Fandango
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO), led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh, will perform Scheherazade & Márquez’s Fandango this February 13 & 14, 2026 at 7:30 pm at the Gallo Center for the Arts. The program will open with selections from Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations. Then the MSO will be joined by esteemed violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for Arturo Márquez’s Fandango. The program will conclude with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra to Perform U.S. Premiere of Klebanov’s Symphony No. 1
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO), led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh, will perform Beethoven & Klebanov this November 14 & 15, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the Gallo Center for the Arts. The program will open with Simone Porter performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Then the MSO will perform the United States premiere of Dmitri Klebanov’s Symphony No. 1 “In Memoriam Babi Yar”. The program will conclude with John Williams’ A Prayer for Peace.